After being rejected by manager Steve Cooper, one Leicester City player is probably regretting his summer transfer.
It’s safe to argue that some of Leicester City’s nine acquisitions from the 2024 summer transfer window have performed significantly better than others.
After Jordan Ayew’s £8 million summer transfer from Crystal Palace, one Leicester great believes he is “so key” for Steve Cooper’s team.
Facundo Buonanotte, who joined on a season-long loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, made it into this week’s top-10 wonderkid power rankings.
Bilal El Khannouss has had a rather uneventful start to life in England thus far, although some other recruits made during the most recent transfer window have done okay.
Cooper hasn’t even seen a single minute of play with one new Leicester acquisition, though. At Leicester City, Steve Cooper has not yet given Michael Golding an opportunity.
The man in question is Michael Golding, a central midfielder who left Premier League powerhouse Chelsea to join Leicester on July 7. A transfer to the Midlands made sense because the 18-year-old was not anticipated to make an impact in the Blues’ first team.
Golding stated on the official Leicester website that he joined the team in order to take “leaps and bounds in my career.”
He declared: “I’m really looking forward to developing professionally at Leicester and putting in a lot of effort to support the team as much as I can.”
“Clearly, the Club’s history speaks for itself; there are excellent players here, and I hope to learn from the staff, get as much knowledge as I can from the senior players, and have a fantastic season.”
However, since Cooper hasn’t handed down his contract, the teenager’s initial elation about joining Leicester may have already diminished, and he may already be regretting the decision.
Golding has made four appearances for the U21 team, but he could have stayed at Chelsea and continued playing at the youth level.
At Leicester City, when will Steve Cooper give Michael Golding a chance? Despite being a natural central midfielder, Golding has mostly played in the number 10 position for the Foxes U21 team.
The former Chelsea star could have to wait a long time to see any kind of consistent playing time if that is the role Cooper wants to utilise him in with the senior squad.
That position has been held by the aforementioned Buonanotte for the majority of 2024–2025 thus far, and considering his current play, the Argentine will not be dropped.
That Cooper hasn’t even given Golding a Carabao Cup appearance or an off-the-bench appearance this season, though, is still a little perplexing.
He didn’t even appear on the bench against Manchester United or Tranmere Rovers, and he was a wasted substitute against Walsall.
Since his prior remarks indicate that he wants to start advancing his career and actually play some minutes at the senior level, the midfielder may well start weighing his options again when the winter transfer market opens.
CLICK HERE FOR MOREÂ